All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

It's all about speed and precision…

Opening Statement

Does anyone else out there remember the 2003 cop actioner, S.W.A.T.? The Colin Farrell led, Sammy
Jackson supporting remake of the cult '70s cop show remembered more fondly for
its theme song than any other quality. Well, almost a decade later, and rather
unexpectedly, comes a direct-to-video sequel in S.W.A.T.: Firefight.
There's not a whole lot of legacy to live up to here, but does this one manage
to kick off a franchise?

Facts of the Case

Paul Cutler (Gabriel Macht, The
Spirit) is a successful LA S.W.A.T negotiator who's never, EVER lost a
hostage. He's the perfect cop, until he's picked to bring an experienced team of
Detroit S.W.A.T personnel up to the modern standard. Of course he loses his
first hostage fresh off of the boats, his team consists of the usual gathering
of walking cop movie clichés, and a revenge driven, homicidal maniac
(Robert Patrick, The Marine)
wants to cut him down after completely fragging up his way of life; just another
day on the job for your average pretty-boy action hero.

The Evidence

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm going to tell you that I'm actually a
pretty big fan of the 2003 iteration of S.W.A.T. I was impressed with the
"old school" feel of the action, the script was serviceable, the premise was
simple and to the point, and the cast was pretty awesome all around, having fun
with the clichés and making for a solid romp of cops and robbers. Colin
Farrell is one of Hollywood's underrated leading men, and Jeremy Renner worked
well as the disgruntled villain of the flick. The film also managed to present
the action pretty well considering the early 21st century quirk of making
absolutely EVERYTHING a PG-13 affair.

S.W.A.T.: Firefight is a sequel in name and catchy theme song alone.
It pretty much takes what worked about the original film—the charisma,
earnest characters, semi-plausible action, and high energy—and chucks it
into a dumpster behind the 7-11 before setting it on fire. The writing is more
or less universally terrible, relying on trite action film cliché to propel
the plot forward. I found myself frustrated and confused at character actions
throughout the film; If Cutler is supposed to be such a proper and official cop,
why the hell doesn't he ever bother telling his superiors that the homicidal
maniac they just let walk is making phone calls to his home number and happens
to know where he lives? Then, when the truth gets out, guys in black suits show
up and the department just backs down? YEAH RIGHT! Then there's the usual
territorial macho bullshit that always drives me insane in these flicks. Are we
dealing with professional law-enforcement, or a group of warehouse workers? The
actors do what they can with the material, but they lack the wisdom or charisma
to carry the half assed screenplay. Robert Patrick's villain is supposed to be a
black ops secret agent nightmare sort of master ninja assassin, and he's about
as threatening as a milkman, or maybe the clerk at your local corner store.

On top of all that, the pacing is completely out of whack. The first film
had the benefit of rapid cutting, slick, stylish visuals, and an incredibly
swift moving plot that didn't mess around at all. Sadly, "Firefight" meanders
when it should be moving forward, and when it does move forward, it does so in a
slipshod fashion. The plot just sort of spins its wheels, and when it does move
ahead, it does so in fits and starts.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

The affair isn't a total loss. director Benny Boom brings all of his
considerable (or assumed to be considerable) music video talents to bare, which
makes for some markedly flashy visuals that are definitely a step or two above
the average direct to DVD crap. The film's titular firefights are brief, but
they're handled quite well, and actually feature some decent juicy bits. Sony's
DVD treatment is rock solid as well, with a razor sharp image that captures the
grit and oversaturated colors about as well as the format can. The audio follows
suit with a booming mix that pumps when the carnage hits. The only extra is a
brief behind the scenes featurette, but it's earnest enough, and doesn't feel
like the usual promotional fluff.

Closing Statement

When S.W.A.T.: Firefight works, it actually works pretty well. Sadly,
the solid cast, decent action, and a stellar audio/visual package can't make up
for the film's script hang-ups. Go in expecting direct-to-video garbage, and you
may be pleasantly surprised. However, if you were one of the other five fans of
the original film (myself included), don't expect anything resembling a worthy
follow-up to a movie most considered mediocre to begin with.